Pocket Eggs with Soy-Sesame Sauce

Description:

In Wuhan, this is a common way of cooking eggs, which were hard to come by during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when food was tightly rationed. Serve warm over rice or noodles.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon minced scallion greens

4 teaspoons canola oil

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, (see Shopping Tip)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Preparation:

1

Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and scallion in a small bowl. Set aside.

2

Heat canola oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat and swirl to coat. Crack 2 eggs into a small bowl; crack the remaining 2 eggs into a second small bowl.

3

Working quickly, pour 2 eggs on one side of the pan and the other 2 on the other side. The egg whites will flow together, forming one large piece.

4

Sprinkle sesame seeds, basil and pepper over the eggs. Cook until the egg whites are crispy and brown on the bottom and the yolks are firmly set, about 3 minutes. Keeping them in one piece, flip the eggs using a wide spatula and cook until the whites turn crispy and brown on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more.

5

Pour the reserved sauce over the eggs. Simmer for 30 seconds, turning the eggs once to coat both sides with sauce. Serve in wedges, drizzled with the pan sauce.

Tips:

Shopping Tip: Black sesame seeds are slightly more flavorful and aromatic than white sesame seeds. Find them in the Asian-foods section of the supermarket or substitute the white variety if they aren’t available.